


ミ★ 𝘔𝘺 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 (𝙈𝙮 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧) ★彡

by Arthuria_PenDragon



Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [11]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, AoKuro BROTP, Aomine Daiki & Kuroko Tetsuya Brotherhood, Aomine Daiki & Kuroko Tetsuya Friendship, Aomine Daiki & Momoi Satsuki Friendship, Basketball, Best Friends, Bromance, Brotherhood, Brotp, Canon Compliant, Conflict Resolution, Episode Related, Episode: s1e18: No!!, Episode: s1e19: On to a New Challenge, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, GoM as a Family, Internal Conflict, Making Up, Manga & Anime, One Shot, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Life Partners, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Possessive Aomine Daiki, Possessive in a PLATONIC way, Protective Aomine Daiki, Protectiveness, References to Depression, Sort Of, Sworn Brothers, Team as Family, To a point, Touou Kuroko Tetsuya, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000, friends/family, slight crack, the rest is Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28990305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthuria_PenDragon/pseuds/Arthuria_PenDragon
Summary: Aomine struggles — because he realised that there was one thing worse, than winning without challenge. Winning without challenge, while aweakplayer has Tetsu. But Aomine’s never been good at saying what he thinks, when it comes to the important people in his life.But maybe, this match was all the push he needed...And Kuroko’s just being lenient and oddly snuggly... because Aomine’sfinally made progressin the “communication“ department of life.
Relationships: Aomine Daiki & Kuroko Tetsuya, Aomine Daiki & Kuroko Tetsuya & Momoi Satsuki, Generation of Miracles & Generation of Miracles
Series: ❦ 𝕂𝕟𝕊: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 ❦ [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021426
Comments: 10
Kudos: 88





	ミ★ 𝘔𝘺 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 (𝙈𝙮 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧) ★彡

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ayaMASO](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayaMASO/gifts).



> This came to mind, after I saw a Tumblr post about the manga page, where Aomine slamms the random guy against the lockers, after the guy badmouths Kuroko's play style.  
> https://ourendlessbluesky.tumblr.com/post/145971215627/korninatoharuichi-oh-my-fucking-god-this-boy  
> And then I had a little chat with @ayaMASO and we decided, that Aomine has no communication skills at all. And then I remembered THAT scene (from a later episode), where Aomine tells Kagami that "his light is too dim".  
> -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
> So shortly, this is the situation: (in my opinion)  
>  _Aomine Daiki has a problem, but does not communicate, to make the problem clear for Tetsu (or for anyone else) to understand, INSTEAD tells Tetsu to fuck off because he does not need a partner, as if that would solve the problem_  
>  **In reality:** (Aomine's messed up logic)  
>  **Aomine thinks:** *Tetsu is MY Shadow. MINE*  
> What he tells Tetsu: "I don't even know how to recieve your passes anymore." ( _Translation_ : "I don't need you")  
> What he tells Kagami: "Your light is too dim, so piss off."  
> What he tells random guys who badmouth Tetsu: "Say that again about MY Shadow, MY BROTHER and I'll kill you, revive you and kill you again!!!"
> 
> And got inspired, because I can never, ever have enough of _AoKuro brothers-in-all-but-blood!_  
>  Well, this is the result of that discussion.  
> Enjoy!

**112 — 55**

Aomine looked at the scoreboard and frowned inwardly.

Had he gone a bit (just a teeny, _tiny_ bit) overboard?

Tetsu had looked depressed... _shit_ , that was bad. He didn’t want Tetsu to feel bad. What he wanted, was for Tetsu to pay attention, to realise that they were partners and that Kagami Taiga was a weakling. Tetsu deserved a better partner. (Hell, at this point, Aomine wouldn’t have minded, if Tetsu joined Kise or Akashi... if the Phantom didn’t want to play with him anymore. Anyone was better, than Kagami Taiga.) _But no._

Tetsu was _His Shadow. **His brother**._ Tetsu was supposed to stay by his side.

Instead, Tetsu was playing for a different team, looking straight trough him, as if he didn’t even exist.

 _Does he?_ a voice whispered in his mind — it sounded oddly (disturbingly) like a mix of Satsuki and Akashi. _Does he look straight trough you? Wasn’t it **the other way around?** You did nothing, but taunt him even now. You’re late for the match — when you know **he’s** playing— and then you taunt him and tell him he’s grown nothing at all, that his basketball is the same, but in fact, it’s **you** who’s stuck, because you can’t seem to move from the hole you’re in, since he’s gone._

Aomine shivered, just a little. The thing was, that he could certainly imagine his sister-figure and his ex-Captain saying such things. Both of them were honest and had more than enough balls to spit him in the face, if he was being a jerk.

Was it true? Was he like that? (No, no he wasn’t. He wouldn’t do _that_ to Tetsu...)

But he’d done _exactly_ that, hadn’t he? He’d told Tetsu to leave him — and stubborn, idiotic Tetsu who _never_ listened to what he had to say, had done exactly that. Went out of his way and found himself a new Light. Perhaps he deserved to be left alone, Aomine thought.

There’d been countless occasions, when Satsuki told him, that he had no filter between his mouth and his mind and that one day, that thoughtlessness of his would cause problems. He had laughed at her then... but now, _now_ it was painfully clear, that she’d been right.

He’d been an idot. Perhaps Satsuki hadn’t been so wrong, when she had first called him _Ahomine_ years ago, not that he’d ever admit that out loud. He frowned inwardly, as the team finally walked into the locker room. Aomine walked over to his own spot and opened his locker, mind still somewhat elsewhere.

Tetsu should have been beside him... and damn it... Tetsu was getting stronger. His techniques hadn’t changed much, but his passes were certainly stronger. It left his palm stinging, like always... but this time, the sting had nothing good in it. He’d caught the pass, yes, but it had taken more effort, than ever before and it had little to do with the strenght. Tetsu’s passes had a mind of their own and even if someone managed to intercept one, they would surely understand one way or another, that the pass had _not_ been meant for them.

Like now.

That pass hadn’t been meant for him, but for Kagami.

And that... that realisation, that understanding flipped something in him. Tetsu was his brother. His Shadow. Where had it all gone wrong?

**_“I don't even remember how to receive your passes anymore.”_ **

Aomine scoffed. There. It had gone wrong _there_ , of course. But how was he supposed to fix it? _Could_ he fix it? Did he want to fix it? ( _Yes._ ) Would Tetsu let him fix it? (Probably no. Certainly not after today’s match.) Damn, he hated when Satsuki was _right_ and oh, how damn right she was! He’d never thought he’d regert something he’d said in the past... but now he did. He regreted.

Even if... even if he approached Tetsu and tried speaking with him, it was likely, that the teal would brush him off. _Damn_. Him and Tetsu were brothers... well, he certainly thougth of Tetsu as such. How could he have messed up their bond _this_ much?

 _Fuck_. He’d never thought he’d regret letting all his restraints fall. Kagami was not Akashi or Kise. And Tetsu, was a Shadow. Shadows were only as strong as the Light... and _Kagami’s light was too dim for Tetsu._

What _now_? What was he supposed to do? Tetsu was now playing for Seirin.

Winning... winning all the time wasn’t fun. But Tetsu being stuck with _weaklings_ , when _Tetsu could be, should be with him, bothered him even more_.

A part of him said, that he should find Tetsu and clear this up. Another part —the larger, guilty and cowad part, said that he can just continue on like this. Like this, Tetsu would be away from him, safe from him and being far from Tetsu, watching him enjoy the game (even if he could not go all out), would be Aomine’s punishment for being so, _so_ freaking blind.

Akashi had warned him, hadn’t he? The _absolute_ bastard he is, the redhead knew this might/will happen and he warned Aomine, back in Teikō. And Aomine, the idiot he’d been at the time, had the audacity to laugh Akashi in the face.

He was snapped from his musings, when that sentence caught his attention. Half sentence or something... nonetheless, it caught his attention.

“Totally useless! That Number 11 was a joke! I mean, all he could do was pass! But even with him in the game...”

Aomine didn’t let the bastard finish. _He saw red._ No one talked about Tetsu like that. No one.

 _“YOU!”_ He whirled around and caught the guy by his shirt and slammed him against the locker, the bastard’s feet dangling in the air. The benchwarmer was looking at him in fear —good. Fear him, if they talked like that about his brother. “If you don’t shut the fuck up this second, I’m going to smash your head into this locker!!“

For a moment, there was deathly silence and then Susa and Imayoshi both moved closer, the Captain looking perplexed and wary at the same time. _“Aomine! Cool down!”_

Aomine snarled at the bastard one last time and then let him drop to the ground. He whirled around, glared at the team and strode off. _No one_ spoke about his brother like that. (In the background, he could hear the bastard asking what his problem was... and Aomine scoffed. No one talked about his brother like that or if they did he’d teach them a lesson.)

The door slammed loudly behind him.

He turned and strode down the corridor, not even paying attention to where he was going. He just wanted to be away from Tōō, as far as possible. He was too stressed, to deal with their shit on top of his own...

Heck, he should be thinking about how he’d deal with Tetsu... because no way in Hell, that he was going to leave things as they were. No. He’d fucked up —royally at that,— but he would not be a coward. He was many things, but coward wasn’t one of them and he would speak with Tetsu. Somehow.

Even if the Phantom hated him, even if Tetsu never wanted to look at him ever again after today, Aomine knew that he had at least _tried_... (And hadn’t _that_ been the one thing Tetsu always told him to do? At least _try_... try enjoying the game, try seeing it as I do, try hoping for something new...)

And he hadn’t listened to Tetsu and brushed him off instead, all the time.

 _‘Not anymore.‘_ he decided, steeling his nerves and taking a deep breath to try controling his smouldering rage, _‘I’ll have to find Tetsu...‘_

As if some diety had heard his pleas, he bumped right into the Shadow by the vending machine. He looked down, taken aback by the sudden collision. Tetsu blinked once, twice. “Aomine-kun.”

Aomine flinched inwardly. He hated how Tetsu called him _that_ , since they were no longer partners. As if Tetsu had given up their brotherhood... ( _Was it Tetsuya, really?_ the voice, Akashi-like as it always was, whispered. Why the fuck did his conscious sound so Akashi/Satsuki-like? That wasn’t normal, right? _Was it him? It was you, who walked away, not returning his fist bump, telling you could not catch his passes anymore. It was **you** , not him. Never him._)

He swallowed hard and tried gathering his thoughts. Now or never.

“Tetsu.”

The other gave him a brief nod and tried dodging past him. Aomine’s hand snapped out to catch the other, before he could properly consider his actions. What was he supposed to say? He was very, _very_ bad with words. (Tetsu was the quiet type, but when he spoke... well, Tetsu _always_ knew what to say.)

Tetsu stopped and then glanced down at his hand, before looking at him. “Don’t be so fucking formal with me, Tetsu.“ he said quietly, “You know I hate that. Or are we nothing more for you, than aqantices? Where’s our friedship? Our _brotherhood_?“

“Ask yourself that, Aomine Daiki.“

Aomine flinched again. The tone was deadpan, but beneath that, it was frosty. Deadly cold.

Still he had to try. Tetsu was _His Shadow_ , His teammate. **_His brother_**. A weakling like Kagami _will not_ take Tetsu from him.

“Look... I’m sorry.“ he said slowly, “I shouldn’t have said it. I... I wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t know what had gotten into me.”

There he had said it. After so long he had finally admitted his own faults. That’s what Tetsu wanted, no? Was it not what he wanted?

Tetsu eyed him for a moment and Aomine waited with baited breath. Then, Tetsu gave a small hum. “You shouldn’t just be apologising to me, Aomine-kun. But to Seirin as a whole. Otherwise, it doesn’t really have weight —it’s one thing to be better, than someone. It’s another to taunt an entire team and bring them down. Are you still playing like in Teikō? If you continou like this, you won’t have a team, Aomine-kun and you’ll be left alone. Pushing even kind and compassionate people away, like Satsuki.”

Aomine’s breath hitched, the words more painful, than any physical blow. Tetsu... he could always do this to Aomine. Leave him speechless and scrambling to get a sentence out.

Tetsu tried moving past him again, but Aomine quickly took a step back. “N-no... you... Tetsu.“ he took a breath, as the Phantom looked at him.

More surprised, than annoyed at the fact, that Aomine wasn’t allowing him to leave and thus, to catch up with Seirin. Tetsu quirked an eyebrow in a disturbinly Akashi-like way and Aomine swallowed hard. Now or never.

“You... you tried to get me to understnd, didn’t you?“ he asked queitly, seraching the light blue gaze, “I needed fucking long to realise, that I should have paid you more attention. We may be the same age, but you’re wiser than me and you tried to tell me... and I didn’t listen. _Hell_ , Akashi tried to tell me and I didn’t listen.“ he looked down, “I... I can’t handle this. Being alone. _I hate it._ I... I should have listened to you and I’m sorry I hadn’t.“

He looked back up and tried to swallow his tears, but it didn’t work —not exactly. “You tried to tell me I shouldn’t do things alone. That we were together in it and I was being an idiot. Even then... you hadn’t just been a friend or a partner on the court. But... even then, you’ve been my _brother_.“

Tetsu’s eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to say something, but Aomine raised a hand and gave him a sharp look.

Aomine took another breath, to try again. Shit, saying these things, when he had said the opposite just quarter an hour ago, in hopes of getting Tetsu away from Kagami, was goddamn hard.

“I said there’s nothing good in basketball, but if there was nothing good, I would have long given up and I can’t give up, because it’s what makes me, _me_.“ he looked at Tetsu again, “At the same time, I can’t enjoy it either, even if there are strong opponents on the other side, like Kise. Because damn it _, we can still challenge each other, have fun_ and... that’s what matters, no? But at the same time, I can’t have fun, because you’re not there with me. I can’t stand seeing you with weaklings, like Seirin. You’re capable of much more, than what they will ever be able to do and you keep holding back, so that they can play with you, because if you let go, yo _ur passes would simply snap their wrists like twigs,_ because they don’t know a thing about you _and you’re not getting properly trained either,_ because damn it, you might be getting stronger, but Satsuki’s never wrong and she said you’re putting unnecessary strain on your body, that could just ruin your life forever and I can’t stand that. I can’t stand, that you’re with Kagami and looking trough me, as if I didn’t exist. I can’t stand, that the passes I loved so much, that I could rely on, need so much attention to be caught...“ he swallowed again, “... and I know I said those words... but now... I... I wish I hadn’t. Even if you hate me now... even that hate is better, than you looking trough me.“

He let a tear slip from his eyes, but he blinked quickly to get rid of it.

“I... I can’t undo what I did and said... _what I’ve thrown away_ , despite the warnings Akashi and Satsuki gave me... but for all it’s worth, _I’m sorry, Tetsu_.” he closed his eyes and then, in a much lower tone, he added, “I... I’d like to play with you again. Let... let me catch your passes again, like back then.”

He waited for a minute and then two. Three.

He looked at the Phantom, but Tetsu’s face was as passive as ever and this time, not even his eyes showed even a spark of what he was feeling. He sighed in resignation. Tetsu will not answer him — he had been such an idiot.

Waited too long, to approach the other. Tetsu had moved on, like Aomine had told him to do. Like Aomine himself could not do, despite appearances.

He sighed and turned away and started walking back to Tōō’s locker room. They’d be leaving soon and he still had his bag there...

Then suddenly, a hand warpped around his lower arm and Aomine stopped in shock. Slowly, he shifted to look at Tetsu, whose own eyes were filled with unshed tears. “You... you’re _an idiot_ , Aomine Daiki.”

Tetsu grunted and then, before Aomine could start to wonder what this response meant, in regards to their bond/friendship, Tetsu hugged him. And Aomine found himself doing the same just moments later, his body relaxing against his brother’s.

He sighed. “I know, I’m one.“ he muttered, “You’d deserve a better brother, because you’re... _you do._ You shouldn’t be stuck with pathetic people like me, but despite all the things I’ve said, I can’t seem to let you go...”

“I’d never want another brother, Dai.“ he said softly and Aomine felt a spark of victory, hearing the nickname. “You, Tsuki and the other Miragen are my siblings and even if you’re idiots sometimes... I wouldn’t want other siblings.”

“I’m sorry.“ Aomine murmured. “You’re my Shadow. My brother... and I don’t ever want to lose you.”

Tetsu hummed and his grip got just a little tigher. “Apology accepted, Daiki. But I swear on the kami... if you have a problem and instead of telling me you’re running away, like you did in Teikō, you’ll wish the Captain was here to give you a piece of his mind, with scissors and all, _because what I’m going to do to you, will be Hell._ ”

Aomine squaked in fright and nodded. _Shit_. He’d forgotten, that there were moments, when Tetsu was scarier, than Akashi, when the redhead was out for blood. He nodded hurriedly, as Tetsu let him go and the Phantom smiled, pleased.

Aomine stole him a glance and then tentatively raised his fist.

Tetsu’s eyes sparkled, a smile on his face as if he’d just won the lottery (and for a moment, Aomine felt like a piece of shit again) and then he raised his own fist and bumped it gently. Aomine grinned and then threw an arm around his Shadow and started walking towards the lockers. The team was surely looking for him by now and Satsuki was not someone he’d like to piss off. She was, after all, the third of the _List of Top Ten Helath Hazards of Teikō_.

The door just opened, as he was about to reach for the handle and Imayoshi gave him a look. “Nice to see you making it back, Aomine-kun. We were just about to leave. Have you cooled down yet?“

Aomine grunted, glaring at the Captain, but at the same time, he felt a chill run down his spine. “ _Daiki_ , don’t tell me you’re this rude to the sempai. I thought you still kept _Nijimura-sempai’s_ lessons in mind?“ Tetsu asked, eyes narrowed.

Tōō blinked at seeing Tetsu, but Aomine just swallowed. “Please Tetsu _don’t_ remind me of Nijimura-sempai. He was as much a health hazard, as Akashi, no matter how much I resepected him.“ then he slipped into the room, dodging his teammates, to grab his belongings.

When he appeared, it was Imayoshi who spoke, looking at Tetsu. “Shouldn’t you be with Seirin?“

“They’d already left, because I told them to go on without me.” was the simple answer, as Tetsu looked at him.

Aomine twitched. “Am I becoming predictable or you’re just even better at reading me, than before?“ he grunted.

Tetsu’s eyes sparkled with mirth, but his face remained impassive. “Perhaps a bit of both, Dai.”

Aomine grunted. “Ah, no, _no!_ Why the Hell did I have to go after you to have this conversation?! Now you’re going to be sticking around and act like _Akashi_...”

“If I recall correctly, Dai, _you_ asked me to stick around.”

Aomine grumbled and marched towards the door, as Satsuki giggled. He sent a glare at her, but that just made her giggle even harder, which meant he rolled his eyes at his two siblings and did his best to ignore them.

Tōō blinked and looked at their manager and the Seirin player. “What... was it all about?“ Imayoshi asked.

Kuroko hummed. “Ah, Dai finally learned some communication skills. Took him long enough, but we’re getting there, I guess. Altough... I would like to ask what had happened. When you left the court he was just his usual level of irritated and bored. When I bumped into him, he looked like he was about to kill someone.”

“Almost did.“ Wakamatsu murmured.

Kuroko blinked, but then Momoi answered. “Ah, you see, Tetsu, an _unfortunate idiot_...“she sent a smouldering glare at the player, who shrunk under the glare, “said some things that were ucalled for, about you. You know how Dai is —took it personally on _Miragen level_ , like anyone else would have and took it _personally_... well, cause you’re brothers.” she shrugged.

Kuroko sighed and then looked at the other player. “If you have some problem with me, you come after me and say it and we’ll settle it. Say something like that in front of Daiki again and not even the coach will stop him from murdering you. And the thing is... that our ex-Captain has _connections_ , so he’d even get away with murder, if Akashi-kun wants it so.”

Momoi giggled. “You would know it, Tetsu, wouldn’t you?“

“Ah, but of course, Tsuki. Now, we’ve someone to catch, before he wanders off.” he said, gesturing in the direction Aomine had left. The two “siblings“ shared a look and hurried after the Power Forwad and Tōō could do nothing, but follow.

Luckily for them, they caught Aomine just at the end of the corridor and then the Power Forwad immediately started to agonize the poor Seirin player. Tōō just watched in bewilderment, because Aomine was being more civil to a player of another team, than to _them_. And... he looked oddly relaxed. They’d never seen him so... _carefree_. Was that even the right word to use in this situation?

“Momoi-san?“ Susa called, as his eyes still lingered on the duo, who were now quieter, but obviously bickering.

“Yes?“

“What’s between the two of them?“

“Ah, they’re like brothers, you know. We met Tetsu in Teikō and Dai met him by chance while practicing. Then they became inseperable and when Tetsu was prompted to First String, him and Dai became partners.”

“First String? In Teikō?“ Wakamatsu echoed, “That guy was...”

“Yes.“ Momoi said, her eyes suddenly frosty, “He _is_ one of the Generation and with a _good_ reason. If you wish to stay healthy, do not even _attempt_ saying such things, sempai. Dai does not take kindly to one of the Miracles being talked down on —especially not _Tetsu_ ,—and _neither do I, for that matter_.”

Tōō shared a few spooked and bewildered looks, before the blonde nodded hurriedly. The deadly aura of the manager, was just as bad as Aomine’s back in the locker room. “S-sorry, Momoi-san.”

“Well, well, well... Light and Shadow together again.” an amused voice called.

The two Teikō players stopped at hearing it and so did Tōō searching for the source. It was a short redhead with bi-coloured eyes, dressed in loose, but still elegant clothes.

“Akashi.”

“Akashi-kun.”

The three former Teikō greeted and Tōō noted the respect in their tones, even Aomine’s. Imayoshi studied the newcomer and he wondered who he was. Akashi... Akashi... wait... was he the Generation’s Captain, the one who now attended Rakuzan? But _what_ was _he_ doing here, so far from Kyoto?

He noticed, as the redhead’s eyes studied Aomine and Kuroko and Imayoshi had to addmit, there was something unsettling in that gaze. Something predatory — the redhead definitely had an aura of confidence and power, that didn’t usually belong to such young individuals.

“Satsuki, it seems we won the bet. Do inform the others, please.“ the redhead called, his lips pulling into a smirk, as he remained leaning against the wall.

Imayoshi noted as Momoi gleefully took out her phone, snapped a picture of Aomine and Kuroko and probably sent it or posted it trough social media. “Ki-chan and Midorin will be _so surprised!_ I’m sure even Mukkun will stop eating! They owe us~!“ she sang gleefully. “You were right, Akashi-kun!”

Tōō raised an eyebrow at their gleeful manager, wondering just what was going on. The redhead chuckled, drawing the eyes to himself, as his gaze still lingered on Aomine and Kuroko. “It was just a simple bet, Satsuki. Besides, I’ve never been wrong before.”

Aomine’s eyes narrowed. “What bet are you talking about, Akashi?“

The Rakuzan Captain smiled, amused. “We may or may not have bet on how long it will take you, Daiki, to get all your angst out of the way and connect the dots, that Tetsuya was merely waiting for a few simple words.”

Aomine bristled. “WHAT?! Come on, Akashi! You can’t be serious?! Betting?! On me and Tetsu?! Oh you, you sorry bast—” the sentence was suddenly lost to a loud hiss and everyone noted, that Kuroko stomped on Aomine’s foot, his light blue eyes narrowed, casuing the Power Forward to whine in pain.

“ _Daiki_. We’ve just straightened this out. At least let us have some popsicles together or let us play a street match, before you finish such sentences and get yourself killed in the process. But if you _do_ plan on getting yourself killed, I don’t even know why we’ve bothered making up. Your early demise would make this whole thing pointless.“

Aomine grunted and to Tōō’s shock, the Power Forward looked sheepish — if only for a moment,— before his indigniation and anger was back. “Oh, come now Tetsu! They’d BET ON US! Don’t tell me it doesn’t BOTHER YOU! Or were you maybe in on it?!”

Kuroko shook his head. “No, of course I wasn’t in it. For one, betting is not something I take part in and _two_ , no sane person bets _against_ Akashi Seijūrō.”

Afforementioned redhead laughed softly, mismatched eyes gleaming gleefully. “Seems you still know how these things go, Tetsuya.“

The teal shrugged. “That one time, when I bet against you about joining Teikō’s First String... ah, I believe it was enough of a lesson never to bet _against_ you, if I wanted to keep my valuables. In the end, I came out a winner, in a sense, but I learned my lesson, thank you. What brings you here, Akashi-kun? Rakuzan did not have any matches today.”

Well, there was the answer for Tōō. The redhead indeed played for Rakuzan.

“I just brought your documents, Tetsuya. I do, after all, have a good reason to assume you intend to transfer to Tōō Gauken and join their Club?“ the redhead said, pulling out a folder from seemingly nowhere, as he offered it to the teal.

Tōō blinked. _What?_

The Seirin player just made up with Aomine out of the blue and they were now getting a new player? What the Hell? They’d just beat Seirin — rather brutally, too, courtesy of Aomine and the teal was _considering_ attending Tōō? And even join the Club on top of it all?

Kuroko opened the folder and peeked inside. The teal threw a glance at Aomine and then nodded to Akashi. “Indeed, Akashi-kun.”

“Well, it will take some time, so probably you won’t be stepping onto the court during the Interhigh any more, but that may just be a benefit.“ Akashi threw a look at the Tōō team as a whole, before looking back at his ex-teammates. “Tōō, after all, is not used to how you play, even if some of them can keep track of your movements.”

Kuroko shrugged. “I do need to settle in a new environmet, before I even consider playing, so that will just be fine. Thank you for the assistance, though.”

The redhead nodded and pushed himself away from the wall. “Anytime, Tetsuya. Please, do make sure Daiki attends his trainings properly from now on.”

Kuroko smiled. “Of course, Akashi-kun.”

Aomine bristled. “Ooi, Akashi! What’s that supposed to mean?! I don’t—!“ he growled marching over and then something Tōō would have never expected out of the blue, happened.

Akashi’s eyes narrowed and as he moved closer to Aomine, their confident Ace just stumbled, Akashi’s hand on his shoulder and a moment later Aomine was kneeling, looking at the redhead with wariness. Akashi leaned closer. “Now, now, Daiki. I don’t like that tone. And you know well, what I’ve meant. Shall I hear from Tetsuya, that you attempt skipping practice again... he’s coming to _Rakuzan_ and Tōō’s loss of the Winter Cup will be your _smallest_ problem. Are we clear?”

Aomine gluped and nodded. “Clear as crystal, Cap’n.”

Akashi smiled pleasantly and took his hand away. “Wonderful. I do look forward to facing you two and Tōō on the court. Have a pleasant day.“ and then, he was gone as unexpectedly, as he appeared.

Tōō stared as Aomine staggered to his feet. “That was foolish, Dai.“ they heard Kuroko reprimand him, “I didn’t agree to transfer, only for you to do something stupid and get the team _slaughtered_.”

Aomine frowned, shirinking a little. “Sorry, Tetsu.”

Tōō blinked, when Kuroko jabbed their Ace in the ribs and Aomine doubled over, begging for mercy. Then, they watched, as Kuroko dragged him upright again, saying something about pocari, as Momoi skipped over to the two boys and they left, chatting excitedly.

* * *

A week later, just as it had been estimated, Kuroko Tetsuya walked into Tōō’s gym flanked by Imayoshi and the team’s coach. Several of the Second String players (plus Wakamatsu) almost got a heart attack, when they realised, that Kuroko was there.

To the team’s complete bafflement, Aomine appeared in time for training and he was even smiling, as he tossed the ball over to the “new“ student.

And that’s how it went for several weeks — Kuroko giving people almost-heart attacks with his unexpected appearances and Aomine actually coming to practice and _staying_. Although, the team noted, his practice was more fooling around with Kuroko, than anything, but that was fine, because the teal was shrewed and several people noted, that Kuroko sneaked some training exercises into their childish games and Kuroko himself always trained properly and so, Aomine lingered as well, when they did the drills, if only to keep an eye on the teal. (But while Aomine made sure Kuroko wasn’t overworking himself, he at least did half of the normal training routine, which was _spades_ better, then skipping practice entirely.)

 **[** And no one on the team said anything either, not after the second week, if they found Kuroko snuggled close to Aomine, while resting between exercises. No one said anything, when Kuroko and Aomine both, (seemingly) randomly started calling Momoi “sister“ and how she easily, with a huge smile on her face, answered “brother“ to both of them. And they certainly didn’t say anything, when the two players called each other “brother“. The coach only looked a _little_ surprised— to his credit—, when he realised, that Kuroko and Aomine were each others’ emergency contact, with Momoi as a second. Oddly, the third emergency contact happened to be a certain Kise Ryōta... It did, later reach their ears, that _Kise’s_ emergency contact was Kuroko and Akashi. Tōō just brushed it off. The Kiseki were a very, very... _odd_ bunch. **]**

And then, Tōō had their first match together, with Kuroko and Aomine walking onto the court side by side— the swissing orange of the ball, like a half-invisible thread between them— and the team — on the court or on the bench— and even their coach, watched with no small amount of fascination, as the two moved as one. It was frightening and beautiful at the same time.

An endless game of _Light_ and _Shadow_.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, please leave comments and tell me what you think :3


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